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women to watch Kelly McKay HMC Kapiti Photo: Troy McKelvie . . . . . . . K elly McKay has never been the stayat-home mother type. She strongly believes there has been a shift in family dynamics, which now sees mothers on the factory floor showing men a thing or two about getting the job done. "It all starts with our mindset of wanting to do it all and do it well," Kelly explains. "We develop this drive to constantly prove ourselves. With the changing times and new mothers accepted in the workforce, there has been less of a shift in the way the father plays a role in the family dynamics. This leaves it up to the mother to work not only a full time job but also the majority of the cooking, cleaning and organising of the children. The added stress and time constraints prove a difficult challenge. Dealing with the challenge of running a business and a household means that we need to be mentally and emotionally stronger than ever." Kelly is the general manager of HMC Kapiti, a MTA-assured, award-winning Holden and Suzuki dealership, offering on-going loyalty benefits, AA rewards and a fantastic vehicle range including an extensive range of used vehicle stock. Kelly recalls a week into starting her current role, going into preterm labour and, a week after giving birth to her 11-week-early baby boy, returning to work to get the business off the ground. "My son was in hospital for the first eight weeks of his life and I had to sacrifice crucial bonding time to ensure the business set off to a good start. I believe I made a huge sacrifice that I cannot take back. I regret this decision and do believe family should always come first. Now pregnant with my second child, work is now in a place where I can step away from the business for a short period of time with the confidence that the staff have it well under control." Her dedication to the job is obvious and is a trait that she says she inherited from her parents. Kelly's father, Gary McKelvie started as a motor mechanic apprentice in 1969 with Wrightcars. In 1990, he bought into the business and, in 2006, Gary and wife Chris brought the remaining shares in the business and property, moving on to have three sites in Levin and the acquisition of the Williams and Adams Paraparaumu dealership in 2009. "My parents have 'lived' their business since I was old enough to walk. I can never remember a time where I didn't aspire to have what they had built for themselves and our family. "Growing up, I have always had ambition to do something great, not always knowing what that was. I didn't feel that going into the family business would be the best for me as I didn't want anyone to think that I had been handed an opportunity on a plate. Once I had proven to myself that I was capable regardless of whom I worked for, I then accepted the opportunity to run the family business." The next question is whether Kelly's children will become the third generation of motorheads. "I guess this would be the ultimate dream," she says, "and truly fitting for my two-yearold son's fascination with cars. But in no way will there be pressure for him to do so; encouragement will be given to drive him to follow any career aspirations about which he is truly passionate. Passion is the underlying factor that drives the success of a company." www.hmckapiti.co.nz WHO'S WHO 2013 37